870 Express Magnum Jamming

[dave3533]

Hey all,

I just purchased a brand new Remington 870 Express Magnum 18-inch. I have not fired it yet, but was cycling it to get a feel for it. It seems that about 1 in 6 cycles, the right shell latch (part #56) gets jammed open, causing the shells to not feed onto the carrier. It also makes the gun very hard to cycle from that point on. If I bring the Fore-end to almost the full back position, I can reach up through the bottom of the carrier and push up and right on the right shell latch (again part #56) and it "pops" into place, which clears up the jam and allows it to cycle untill it does this again. Does anyone know what is causing this? Once again this is a brand new gun and has never been fired, and it was in a sealed box untill I got it. I removed the trigger-guard and everything inside the gun appears to be in normal operating condition. This has been fairly disconcerting since this gun is intended for home defense. Any help would be great, thank you.

*Edit*

After searching the forum, I found a few posts of people having a similar problem. I'm posting two pictures of the slide channel that activates the right shell latch. It looks a little deformed to me, and sorry for the blurry pictures, not very good light here.

www.dave3533.com/rem00.jpg
www.dave3533.com/rem01.jpg


Cheers,
Ðave

[Dfariswheel]

Possible "New gun Syndrome".....It's just not broken in.

Here's what I'd suggest:
First strip the gun per the manual, including removing the bolt and trigger group.

Get a spray can of Rem-Oil or CLP Breakfree.
Spray the entire gun inside and out dripping wet.
Allow to soak for about 30 minutes, drain all the liquid out you can and wipe everything down with clean cloths.

Check the suspect shell latch by pushing it OUTWARD toward the receiver wall NOT inward, to test it's freedom.
(When the action is operated, the latches are pushed toward the receiver walls. Don't push them inward toward the trigger group, this can break the latch's staking.).
The shell latch should move outward toward the receiver wall and spring back with no catching or sticking.

Press the latch toward the receiver wall several times to "break" any burrs or debris that may be interfering with the latch's movement. (Don't press TOO hard, just enough to "feel" anything catching, and be careful NOT to break the latch loose from it's staking. It MUST be staked firmly in place)

Next, inspect the fore arm action bars for kinks, or bends.
Check with a straight edge.
The "ramp" on the action bar "looks" OK, from the picture.

Assemble the gun, (you can leave the barrel off).
Operate the action slowly, and watch the shell latch to insure it's being activated properly, and is being moved freely by the action bar.
The action bar's "ramp" should cleanly push the latch open, then allow it to return closed.
It should not "over ride" the latch and allow the ramp to by-pass the latch.

CAREFULLY, load one round into the magazine, then slowly operate the action to check for proper feed of the shell.
(Don't actually allow the shell to chamber, just check for release from the magazine).

Load two or more rounds, and check for proper feed again.
Test a few rounds by operating the action rapidly.

If the gun seems to feed properly, take it to the range and shoot a few boxes of ammo through it.
The more you operate the action and shoot it, the smoother things should get.

If after these checks, the gun still fails to feed properly, either take it back where you bought it for an exchange, or send it to Remington for a warranty repair.

Remember, you payed good money for a reliable gun, DON"T allow a non-qualified person to start "Working on it", this may void the factory warranty.

[dave3533]

Thanks for the quick reply Dfariswheel!

I'll do exactly as you suggest and let you know how it goes. Thanks for taking the time to reply :P

Cheers,
Ðave